Just get a cheap judo top until your preferred store gets them in. No reason to blow a wad of cash when you'd prefer to wear something else.

KarateDepot.com has really cheap judo gi, and I'm sure there are other sites with good prices. You could probably get a spare gi for less than what you're willing to spend...and keep it for laundary days or for when a friend wants to grapple.

I thought about doing a wee little write up, but I'll just write here.

Product:
Adidas jiu-jitsu contest gi size 7.

Ordered From:
KODOKANGEAR.com

Cost:
$78 + shipping ($14 UPS ground) +$5 for a belt

So it just got here _today_. Fit is pretty good if a tad tight on my oversized middle. Nothing too bad - just another reminder to do my roadwork. meh. The sleeves are a bit loose below the elbow so I guess i need to jack off more to build those forearms up. Playing around with it in my office and it seems pretty sturdy. I can't give too much of a review becasue this is my first real gi - i won't count the POS krotty thing I had in highschool. The collar is thick and stiff and seems sturdier than those of some of my classmates. The material pretty soft too - I think I could go without UA and be ok.

Amusingly I had forgoten how to tie my belt so I had to ask a (non-bullshido) karate guy in my building to help me out. His opinion was that it was a pretty nice gi.

So that the good - now the **BAD**: It's adidas so there's three stripes sewed on the shoulder ending in a logo patch. The logo patch seems to not be on there so well and it has thick rough edges. Like rub your arm on opponent's face to remove skin rough. Maybe this is normal for patches I dunno.

The other thing i'm not thrilled about is that were quite a few... don't know term.. loose threads? unfinished stiching? The stiching all looks ok but rather than being finished some of the threads just kind of hang off the end. I cut them all off close to the gi so hopefully they won't catch and unravel but that's pretty sloppy. I'm not sure about Kodokan's return policy but adidas says right on the gi that the product is FULLY GUARANTEED from defects for one week. One whole week huh? Awesome.

Ving Chung (or should I say _ing _ung? ha!) was very helpful and I had zero issues with the store or ordering. would buy again etc etc. Weirdly you have to call them to order - they have no e-store.

My first class using the gi will be tonight so I can give more info and opinions from the guys there tomorrow.

You can't make people smarter. You can expose them to information, but your responsibility stops there.